Where a meal is an event & home is the heart of it all

This one is for all my pals that like to do things with an unconventional flare. Might I propose turkey thighs for Thanksgiving dinner instead of a full roasted turkey? They cook faster, and let’s be honest, everyone loves the dark, moist meat anyway!

Okay, if not for Thanksgiving, for Friendsgiving Dinner. But make these. They’re incredible.

Bourbon Glazed Turkey Thighs

Yield: 6 servings | Time: 1.5 hrs

Ingredients

6 bone-in turkey thighs

Salt & pepper

For the glaze:

1 c bourbon

1 c ketchup

1 1/2 c brown sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

For garnish:

Roasted garlic heads, pomegranate seeds, parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan (very, very well) with foil. Might I suggest spraying the roasting pan with cooking spray BEFORE lining it and after? You’re welcome.

Dry the turkey thighs with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper.

While the oven is preheating, over medium heat, combine all glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer, whisking until all the ingredients are well combined. Taste, carefully, for salt and pepper. Reserve some glaze for the serving.

Rub half the glaze over the turkey thighs. Cover the thighs with foil, piercing the foil with a fork to allow for venting holes. Roast for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove foil, basting the thighs with the glaze again. Roast for another 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Allow the thighs to cool for 10 minutes, drizzle with reserved glaze and serve. Garnish, if you like, with parsley, pomegranates and roasted garlic.

I know I said it about mashed potatoes, but really, is it Thanksgiving Dinner (or Friendsgiving Dinner) without a stuffing on the table?

It’s so hard to pick a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, so I definitely love a mashed potato, and I’d just like to call the stuffing the main dish. K? I wanted to do something a little different with this stuffing recipe, so I used spicy sausage instead of sweet sausage, and it definitely shook it up a little!

I love to take a dish that you expect to taste a certain way and just ever so slightly change it up for a more surprising experience.

This stuffing is a little savory, a little sweet, and has a little bit of heat! It’s so simple, comes together so quickly, and can totally be made ahead and just reheated.

Also, I mean, the leftovers are pretty amazing.

Spicy Sausage Stuffing

Yield: 12 servings | Time: 1.5 hrs

Ingredients

One loaf of bread, cubed into desired size

1.5 c sweet onion, chopped

1 c carrots, chopped

1 c celery, chopped

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp rosemary

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 lb spicy sausage (either a pack of ground sausage, or a pound of sausage links with casing removed)

YASSS, as they say. These goat cheese mashed potatoes are my all time favorite. If you’re not the biggest fan of goat cheese, just stay with me here. I promise you don’t really taste it – the goat cheese adds a little tang and a lot of creaminess to the potatoes.

It’s also important to toss two little pats of butter on the top, ya know, to get all that melty goodness in there for a finishing touch. Also, chives, which I apparently forgot, look lovely on top of the mashed potatoes!

So just how many potatoes do you need? This recipe accounts for 8 people, but you can increase the proportions easily! It’s 1 medium potato per guest and 1 oz of goat cheese per guest. Easy!

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 8 servings | Time: ~60 minutes

Ingredients

8 medium yukon gold potatoes, of similar size

8 quarts of water, or enough water to cover the potatoes by at least 1 inch

8 ounces of goat cheese

1/2 cup of whole milk or cream

4 tablespoons of butter

Salt & pepper to taste

Garnish: chives or parsley; pat of butter

Directions

Bring pot of water to a boil.

Add salt, like you would salt a pot of pasta, and whole potatoes.

Boil for about 35 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

When the potatoes are ready, dump into a collander and allow to drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, gently peel the potatoes. I like to leave some skin on!

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the same pot, turn the heat off and add the potatoes. Pour milk or cream over the potatoes and start to mash until it’s just about the consistency you prefer. I like some chunks in my potatoes!

Add in the goat cheese and stir until just combined. Don’t over stir or you’ll basically end up with really delicious cement. Salt & pepper to taste.

Tip 1: You can make this ahead! Just reheat with a little milk/cream and taste as you reheat. It may need more butter, goat cheese, salt & pepper.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, there are few things better than: 1. a recipe you can make ahead of time and 2. a recipe that comes together in 15 minutes.

Enter: cranberry sauce. Though I hate to admit it, I was most definitely a canned cranberry sauce kind of gal – you know, the one that still maintains the shape of the can when you dump it on a plate. But a few years ago, I finally made my own cranberry sauce after learning just how easy it is. It’s actually one of the few recipes I can just hold in my head and repeat year after year.

Perks of fresh cranberry sauce: it just tastes SO fresh. You don’t really need anything special for this recipe, though a citrus zester is handy for the orange peel garnish. It’s a $10 tool and certainly one I reach for at least once a month.

You’ll also want a pot with pretty high sides – I use my stock pot to make this cranberry sauce – because it WILL foam up. And if you’re pot is too small…well…you know.

Also. Even if you don’t love cranberry sauce, it still looks festive on your table! Breaks up all the brown, ya know?

Combine all ingredients except orange zest in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Watch the pot the whole time and continuously stir to help break up the cranberries. When the cranberries start to foam, lower the heat very slightly and watch that your pot does not overflow. Once the foam subsides and cranberries are a mix of jelly-like liquid and crushed cranberries, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with orange zest!

I can’t get enough of a beautiful table, especially for the holidays. There’s something that really elevates a Thanksgiving meal when the table is put together. These tables are helping me wrap my head around what our Friendsgiving table will look like (since we don’t actually get to host Thanksgiving). I’m thinking I need some feathers…thoughts?

This is the oh-crap-I-forgot-about-my-table table. You just need some eucalyptus branches, tall and short pillar candles like this set, and maybe a little burlap or gauze fabric.

5. Throwin’ Down

(via)

Get the Look:

This is another easy one! Grab a few white pumpkins, maybe a few antlers and pine cones, a plaid throw blanket and a charger to coordinate with the colors of your throw blanket. Then I’d rock it with some clear glasses and white dishes. If you are looking for the perfect chargers, Pier 1 and World Market are my go-to!

I love the idea of leaning into a meal with a soup (okay, a salad right after, too, because I’m 100% extra when I start cooking and planning an experience for friends & fam). This Butternut Squash & Apple soup is so, so good. It’s cozy and hits all the notes you want a soup to hit in the fall. It comes together relatively quickly, once you’ve roasted up your squash and can be made a day or two ahead.

You start with roasting up your squash with fall spices and while that’s roasting, you get your mirepoix going (it’s easy, promise!). Once that squash is nice and roasted, you combine in a pot with your mirepoix, add some broth, hit it with a stick blender, taste for S&P and you’re done.

Preheat your oven to 400°. Prepare a pan with foil & oil spray, or a silpat.

Peel & chop your squash into cubes. Tip: they don’t have to be perfect, but will roast more evenly if you keep them about the same size.

Place the cubed squash into a large mixing bowl and add olive oil, S&P, spices.

Toss the squash to coat evenly with oil and spices. Tip: your hands are the best tool in your kitchen!

Bake your squash 30-40 minutes, until easily poked with a fork.

While your squash is baking, prepare your mirepoix ingredients.

Melt butter in a pot large enough to hold the squash and 6 cups of liquid. (Might I suggest at least an 8 qt pot?)

Once the butter is melted, add your mirepoix and sautee until soft and onions are translucent, about 8-10 minutes.

When the squash is finished, add to the pot and top with broth and water. Stir to combine.

Remove from heat and use a stick blender/immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can add your mixture – carefully – to a blender. Allow to cool or serve immediately.

If making ahead of time, allow the soup to cool completely, before transfering to an airtight container and refridgerating. Bring to room temperature and reheat on the stovetop, adding some liquid to thin the soup again.

To serve, top with some nuts and cheese, such as pecans or walnuts, pepitas, goat cheese.

Okay, this is really our Friendsgiving Menu, but hey, it totally works as your Thanksgiving Menu, too! Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday – I love the entertaining, the houses full of friends and family, that cozy, romantic vibe that starts to fill the air. Plus, there’s no pressure of gift giving – just getting together with your loved ones and making some excellent food in the kitchen.

All week, I’ll be sharing the recipes, tips and tricks and some table inspiration for your Thanksgiving meal!

I really, really love fall. I love sunny, crisp fall days, but I also adore rainy ones. Anyone else? I love a cozy meal while it’s raining outside. Something charming about it to me. This fall harvest salad with roasted butternut squash is so perfect for a day like today, where it’s raining and a little gloomy outside. Crunchy, a little sweet, *almost* healthy – I’ve got this one on repeat lately!

It’s such an easy recipe once you’ve roasted up your butternut squash. It’s also one of those non-recipe-recipes that I am so fond of, that is completely customizeable to your tastes! I love the squash with the gorgonzola and pecans, and the cranberries add a little sweetness, and the onions add a little bite. Yes, please!

Let me know how you make your own version of this salad!

Fall Harvest Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash

Yields: 4-6 servings, depending on serving size | Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, cubed

1.5 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon each: salt, pepper, allspice (optional)

1/4 cup pecans

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup gorgonzola (obsessed with the one I found at Trader Joe’s – it’s beautiful and very tasty!)

1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly

1 pound, mixed greens

Dressing:

1 tbsp each: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard

salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Prepare a pan with foil & cooking spray or a silpat (my preference). Peel and cube your butternut squash and place in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over squash and sprinkle spices. Toss gently to evenly coat the cubed squash. Place on the baking sheet.

Once your oven is preheated, place the sheet in the oven and roast the butternut squash for 20-30 minutes. Shake the pan at 10 minutes and at 20 minutes, check for doneness.

Come October, I’m all, bring me all the pumpkin spice things please okaythanksbye! I love that flavor, and it being so seasonal, really rings in the autumn for me.

These mini pumpkin cinnamon rolls are a quick and easy recipe with only a few ingredients. They come together in the time it takes to open the canned pumpkin + 2 minutes. Okay, and preheating the oven time. But once you make these, you’ll want to make them over and over again.

Roll out the crescent dough and split between the two sheets. Smoosh (very technical) the seams together.

Gently spread the canned pumpkin evenly over the two sheets of dough. Sprinkle spiced sugar over the pumpkin filling.

Roll up your pumpkin crescent rolls, lengthwise.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

While the cinnamon rolls are cooling, prepare the sugar icing. Combine the ingredients and stir to combine, until no clumps are visible. If the mixture is soupy, add confectioner’s sugar 1/2 tsp at a time. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

While I love a fancy meal or a good project recipe (like bread, tortillas, or cinnamon rolls), I really do love an easy recipe that doesn’t even need a “recipe.” To be completely honest with you, I don’t have many recipes locked in my head, but I do have a few things I turn to for which I know the basics and can switch up based on my mood…and the contents of the fridge.

A frittata really is quite simple – eggs + your favorite veggies. This version, I added some chopped spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions. This go around, I added a light sprinkling of cheese when it came out of the oven. It’s completely up to you!

Simple Frittata

Yield: 12 servings | Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

16 eggs (for a 9×13 casserole dish)

1/4 c. milk or cream

1 c. mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, choppeed

1.5 c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed

15 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/4 c. shredded cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Prepare casserole with non stick spray. Set aside.

Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Slowly whisk in milk/cream.

Add all vegetables and gently fold to combine.

Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center is firm. Once out of the oven, top with the shredded cheese.

Note: You can 100% add shredded cheese to the mixture if you desire. Add along with the vegetables! Customize the ingredients to your liking!